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Work With Nonprofits? DNA For Personal & Organizational Wellbeing

Work With Nonprofits? DNA For Personal & Organizational Wellbeing

Work With Nonprofits? DNA For Personal & Organizational Wellbeing is Dr. Kathleen Robinson’s overview of NANOE’s Three-Part Video Series, “DNA for Personal And Organizational Wellbeing.” During her fifty-year career, Dr. Robinson worked in community and regional support systems development for at-risk families, children and youth organizations, community-based literacy systems, holistic family centers and nonprofit human services organizations. In addition, her focus has been on systems-based approaches to community planning and policy development, and social impact assessments of various community change projects. Her expertise is rural, integrated community development. Dr. Robinson previously served as Director of the Center on Neighborhood Development and the Director of the Center on Nonprofit Leadership within the Institute on Families and Neighborhood Life at Clemson University. She also co-lead in the development of the Institute’s PHD program in International Family and Community Studies. She is also the Co-Founder of the National Association of Nonprofit Organizations & Executives. Simply put, Kathleen knows how to work with nonprofits

Work With Nonprofits? NANOE’s Emphasis on Healthy Guidelines For Executives & Organizations

At NANOE we know that you want to be live a purpose-driven life. A life that has a strong sense of vision for a better tomorrow for yourself, others, and the environment.  We know you want to do good in such a way that it truly makes a deep, wide, and lasting impact.  We know you want to lead effectively and see your organization grow.  We know you are motivated to make a real difference in this world. (Identity Transformation)

In order to do that, you need to: Boost your DNA for personal and professional wellbeing by cultivating a strong sense of individual and corporate purpose, passion, resilience, perseverance, and will power.  Nourish your personal and corporate DNA so that you not only survive but thrive during the good and bad times. (Character Want)

The problem is many leaders who work with nonprofits spend too little time cultivating the basics required for living a meaningful work and personal life.  And we’re not always in control of what happens to us personally or at work.  The national economy has gone through major down turns every 8-10 years for several decade now.  This has left many nonprofits scrambling to survive and trying to simply bounce back to previous financial, operational, and service levels.  Unexpected events personally and professionally present major challenges to anyone’s leadership and wellbeing (External Problem)

Internal Problem:  If your DNA for wellbeing is not developed or robust enough to weather difficult personal and corporate hard times, you will feel inadequate and ill-equipped to weather the storm.  When events occur beyond our control, we feel discouraged, fearful, and panicked.  Few will have not experience one of these emotions!  Feeling out of control threatens our sense of efficacy, sense of worth, our satisfaction with our life and work.  We may doubt who and what institutions can be trusted.  Hard times cause some of us to be very disappointed when we realize people and institutions we thought we could count on let us down.  (Internal Problem).

NANOE knows our individual and corporate lives will be exposed continuously to challenging times that require us to call on existing personal and corporate capacities to weather the bad times, bounce back, and thrive in spite of difficult circumstances that happen to us.  How we weather and cope with the bad times and come through them even stronger depends on whether we work to develop a healthy DNA to find and maintain our personal and corporate wellbeing. (Philosophical Problem)

THREE-PART VIDEO SERIES – DNA FOR PERSONAL & ORGANIZATIONAL WELLBEING

We understand that many of you have faced real setbacks during the 2020 and 2021 health and economic storm.  We understand that you may have felt like giving up. We know that some of you had developed a stronger DNA the gave you and your organization the capacity to weather the storm. Some are even thriving despite it all!  We know many are stepping up to support nonprofits and their customers during these difficult times, which gives you hope, support and encouragement. But we also know that the demands placed on nonprofit’s financial, material, and human resources during this difficult period in our national history has been overwhelming.  We know that some nonprofits have had the capacity to change services, operations and draw on existing financial reserves more than others.  We know you have tried your best to weather this current storm personally and corporately as well as you can.  (Empathy)

Which is why NANOE has provided you and your leadership with tools, resources, ideas, and supports to weather and thrive during the good and bad times in life.  NANOE wants to provide resources that nourish and boost your DNA for personal and corporate wellbeing.  NANOE supports your personal and organizational capacity building efforts and your individual and corporate desire to achieve significant outcomes and impacts.  NANOE is here to help leaders who work with nonprofits tell your story of impact and to walk alongside you in your quest to develop a strong DNA for personal and organizational wellbeing that equips you to have a meaningful personal, professional, and corporate life.  (Authority)

NANOE does this by :

1.Providing face-to-face and virtual live consultations to support you in specific areas of concern and to guide you to effective practices that stimulate growth and development. (Plan: Step 1)

2. NANOE develops and promotes informative videos that help you develop and clarify your DNA for personal and corporate wellbeing and impact. (Plan: Step 2)

3. NANOE provides tools, ideas, and connection with business, thought, and industry leaders to enhance your knowledge, skills, and performance. NANOE connects members with people and organizations that can assist and support members’ efforts to build and boost their DNA for personal and corporate wellbeing. (Plan: Step 3)

4. NANOE team members practice gratitude for you, thought leaders, and business partners who desire to support your efforts to cultivate a strong, effective DNA for personal and corporate wellbeing. NANOE develops reciprocal relationships with business leaders who can bring needed resources to NANOE’s members needed for growth and impact.

Direct Call To Action:  Build and boost your DNA for personal and corporate wellbeing.  Institute activities that build and boost your DNA.  Encourage and support work associates to do the same.  Foster DNA capacity building throughout your organization.  Work on enhancing vital areas of your organization that develop, sustain, and advance DNA capacities.  Allocate time within the organization to reflect on present DNA capacity and select key areas that can be enhanced.  Continuously build and improve your DNA.  As times change, you change, others change, institutions change, the nature and extent of your DNA must change too.  Now is the time to get back to basics so that you thrive personally and together not just struggle to survive.

And in the meantime: Start by viewing NANOE’s video series on The DNA for Personal and Organizational Wellbeing.  Take a few of the suggestions and put them into practice. Discuss key ideas from the videos with colleagues at work and with your family and friends. (Transitional Call to Action)

THREE-PART VIDEO SERIES – DNA FOR PERSONAL & ORGANIZATIONAL WELLBEING

Failure:  Doing nothing to improve yourself, your thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and actions is a setup for a life that is less satisfying and meaningful.  It is a set up for an organization that does not handle internal or external crises well.  When we stop consciously thinking about and enhancing our individual and corporate DNA for wellbeing, we experience more depression, guilt, anxiety, sleeplessness, and a variety of other very unhealthy effects.  How we relate to customers, co-workers, volunteers, contributors, community leaders is greatly affected by our sense of wellbeing, our sense of worth, our sense of efficacy.  When DNA is inadequate, it affects our nonprofit’s culture, climate, worker engagement and satisfaction, and retention.   (Failure)

Success: Build and boost a robust personal and corporate DNA for wellbeing. Build your DNA together with those who wish you well in your efforts!  NANOE is here to support your plans for development.  NANOE is here to help you thrive during the bad times as well as when things are ok!

Work With Nonprofits? NANOE’s Emphasis on Fundraising & Financial Capacity Building

At NANOE we know you want to have all the financial resources you need to achieve your nonprofit’s mission so that this world is a better and different place! (Identity Transformation)

In order to do that, a altered view of the what and how of financial capacity development is needed.  When a nonprofit performs effectively in building the financial capital it needs to accomplish its mission at its intended scale and impact, the nonprofit has develop the capacity to communicate and relate effectively to those who want to invest in its cause.   People affiliated with the organization have the knowledge and skill needed to conduct effective fundraising processes capable of garnering millions, not hundreds of dollars. It has developed an internal financial capital development organizational capacity.  Effective financial capacity development strategies are present to guide and direct securing, growing, and sustaining needed financial capital.  A shift in thinking and operations has occurred.  The nonprofit understands building the organization’s capacity to secure and sustain financial capital is as important as the attention it gives to service development and delivery.  The leadership understands that because they are responsible to lead organization, their priority is on performing functions related to financial capital development.  It takes precedence over leading directly, service delivery.  Others do that.   Indeed, they understand that without adequate financial capital, their ability to provide services doesn’t exist.  Without adequate financial capital development capacity, the ability of the organization to accomplish its mission is impossible. (Character Want)

The problem is most leaders who work with nonprofits are not taught the elements of fundraising or economic capital development that make a difference in their nonprofit’s financial success.  Most lack essential financial capital development knowledge, skills, and capacities.  Many nonprofits marketing messages are off.  And they don’t provide the information that contributors, community leaders, and customers need and want.  Most nonprofits don’t prioritize their time and energy to include cultivating and sustaining contributor relationships.  Contributors are not finding adequate information they need to risk giving large investments to them.  This lack of information is due to inadequate internal evaluation capacity, so outcomes and impacts needed to assess the value and worth of services is not readily available in a form needed by investors and community leaders.  There is lack of attention to building internal financial capital development working units.  Consultants hired to raise funds often don’t give away their knowledge, do all the work that should be done internally, and charge fees that are out of the reach of many nonprofits.  Executives, volunteer and paid, lack a proper, effective understanding, commitment to, and skill in leading financial capital development efforts.  There is a failure to understand that the task is not so much about asking people for money as it is about telling their nonprofit’s story in a way that investors can understand, respect, and trust, and feel compelled to give to.  The return on their investment is not readily transparent.  Some industry leaders keep promoting flawed board roles and responsibilities relative to financial capital development. In short, most nonprofit leaders lack adequate financial capital development knowledge and skills, and misunderstand their role and responsibilities for building and boosting the organization’s capacity to raise financial resources in a sustainable way that allows for growth and significant impact. (External Problem)

which makes you feel:  As a result, most nonprofit leaders feel inadequate to lead financial capital development efforts.  They feel unsatisfied with the level of results they can achieve given their vision and mission.  They feel anxious most the time because they never have the financial resources necessary to accomplish their vision of change.  They feel uneasy about the financial future of their organization.  Some become content with the status quo during the good times and are complacent in their leadership to build financial capital development capacity during the good times so their organization can weather the bad times.  Some are in a manic-panic mode relative to raising funds.  Some lack motivation to concentrate on financial capital development.  Some live with continuous anxiety that just around the corner their organization may not survive financially and that they will be held responsible for its decline or dissolution. (Internal Problem).

(Philosophical problem; We believe)  However, it doesn’t have to be that way.  There is more than enough money available to support your cause.  Availability of funds is not the problem! But the problem partially lies in contributors’ lack of assurance that they will see a significant return on their investment!  They lack the information needed about current outcomes and impacts attributed to interventions.  And most nonprofits are not equipped with the essential capacity needed to secure financial capital, or to grow and sustain it.   Leaders lack proper understanding of staffing and leadership requirements needed to raise financial capital.  Some industry standards of practice promote unsound, unworkable views and standards of practice.

Fundraising and financial capital development knowledge and skills can be learned, if nonprofit leaders are properly mentored and given cost-effective tools, models, and case studies to support learning and fundraising practice.  They can learn what is required to build an effective financial management unit within their organization, regardless of their current size.  However, there has been too few resources available for nonprofit leaders and members to learn on the job in affordable, practical ways.

The tyranny of the urgent connected to service delivery causes some leaders to spend too little time cultivating and sustaining the organization’s economic wellbeing.  Some lack motivation to concentrate time and effort of financial capital development capacity building.  Some are not comfortable in asking people for money, partially because they lack training and concentrating of learning new ways to think about and engage in capital development.  However, NANOE believes most nonprofit leaders want to gain knowledge and skill in financial capital development.  They want to build the capacity needed to secure necessary and sufficient capital.  They just need practical, affordable ways to learn and institute such capacity.  (Philosophical Problem)

THREE-PART VIDEO SERIES – DNA FOR PERSONAL & ORGANIZATIONAL WELLBEING

We understand:  NANOE understands there is always the tyranny of the urgent of meeting your organizations needs.  We understand leaders must lead people, operations, and the organization.  We understand these competing leadership responsibilities place demands on everyone’s time, energy, and request for resources.  We understand that your nonprofit is in competition with others for what appears to be limited dollars. We understand many nonprofit leaders feel ill equipped to raise funds properly.  We understand you may not like asking people for money. We understand you are apt to spend the most energy and time on things that give you a sense of satisfaction and are of interest. (Empathy)

Which is why NANOE provides tools, ideas, seminars, guidelines, phone consultations, face to face consultations, and web-based resources on fundraising and financial capital development. NANOE desires to give away its financial capital development and fundraising knowledge and skills to leaders that desire to learn how to successfully raise funds, manage it entire financial portfolio, and engage contributors on a sustainable basis.  NANOE’s teams support nonprofits that are committed to raising significant funds and increasing their organization’s capacity to do so on a sustainable basis.  (Authority)

NANOE does this by:

  1. Providing web-based resources (tutorials, videos, case studies, examples from nonprofits that were successful in fundraising) for its members through the Major Gifts RampUp Cloud. (Plan: Step 1)
  2. NANOE conducts monthly regional seminars that highlight the processes involved in fundraising and introduces leaders to the Guidelines for Impact which include Building Financial Capital and Boosting Financial Capital for Impact and Growth. (Plan: Step 2)
  3. NANOE consults in person, virtually, and by phone with members and interested leaders who commit to engaging in a major gifts fundraising campaign and improve their financial capital development plans and operations. (Plan: Step 3)
  4. NANOE stimulates learning and reflection on fundraising by providing opportunity for members to go through the Certified Development Consultant credentialling process and to learn all facets of financial capital development capacity building through its Guidelines for Growth and Impact entitled Build Financial Capacity for Growth and Impact and Boost Financial Capacity for Growth and Impact. The is further opportunity to test your knowledge in these areas by going through the self-learning and self-examination process found in the Certified Nonprofit Executive.

(Direct Call to Action) So, whether you lead your organization’s fundraising efforts directly or are a leader that must ensure effective fundraising and financial capital development occur, commit to learning how to raise funds, and manage and sustain your finances effectively.  Discover that fundraising and financial capital development are not so much about asking for money as it is about sharing passionately what your nonprofit does and its results.  Build a strong case for support.  Learn how to develop such a case and use it effectively.  You have stories of impact worth sharing!  Make sure these stories are presented in a way that compels contributors to want to hear them and invest in making even a greater impact.  Earn contributors’ trust and respect by performing effectively in your fundraising and financial capital development efforts.

(Transitional Call to Action; And in the meantime) Start learning what is involved in the fundraising process by attending one of NANOE’s monthly virtual or face-to-face seminars.  Keep your membership current so that you can access the Major Gift RampUp Cloud to access numerous tools and resources to help you in your fundraising efforts.  Read NANOE’s Guidelines on Building Your Financial Capital and Boosting Your Financial Capital for Growth and Impact.  Test your understanding of the craft of fundraising and building financial capital capacity by taking the self-learning, self-paced credentials entitled Certified Nonprofit Executive and Certified Development Executive. (Transitional Call to Action)

(Failure; So) Stop spending what little time and resources you have on raising insignificant amounts of money through fundraising events that sap your and volunteers times and energy with little financial result that makes a different to your organization’s success and sustaining your operation and organization.  Stop feeling incapable of managing, growing, and sustaining the finances you need to accomplish your mission.

(Success) and instead learn how to raise the six and seven figure gifts you need.  Learn how and begin building lasting relationships with your contributors so that sustainability of your organization is not in question during the bad economic times as well as good times. Build effective organizational capacity to secure all the capital you need to support your mission at a scale that makes a difference.

When leaders who work with nonprofits build adequate financial development capacity, they feel more satisfied with the outcomes achieved. Leaders understand their role in capital development and the organization is more focused in the choice of strategies adopted to achieve their mission.  Co-workers become more accountable and transparent for the outcomes achieved.  When financial capital development capacity is present, leaders have the resources they need to accomplish public relations, outreach, and marketing goals.  Their accounting systems are usually more robust and meet proper accounting standards.  Their evaluation capacity is usually enhanced.  When financial capital development capacity is present, nonprofit leaders receive more support and endorsement from community leaders, contributors, staff, and customers.

THREE-PART VIDEO SERIES – DNA FOR PERSONAL & ORGANIZATIONAL WELLBEING

Work With Nonprofits? DNA For Personal & Organizational Wellbeing was first released by NANOE NEWS

Work With Nonprofits? DNA For Personal & Organizational Wellbeing was authored by Kathleen Robinson and posted by Jimmy LaRose.

For more articles like Work With Nonprofits? DNA For Personal & Organizational Wellbeing VISIT HERE.

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The post Work With Nonprofits? DNA For Personal & Organizational Wellbeing appeared first on NANOE | Charity’s Official Website.

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Kathleen Robinson
Kathleen Robinson
During her fifty-year career, Dr. Robinson worked in community and regional support systems development for at-risk families, children and youth organizations, community-based literacy systems, holistic family centers and nonprofit human services organizations. In addition, her focus has been on systems-based approaches to community planning and policy development, and social impact assessments of various community change projects. Her expertise is rural, integrated community development. Dr. Robinson previously served as Director of the Center on Neighborhood Development and the Director of the Center on Nonprofit Leadership within the Institute on Families and Neighborhood Life at Clemson University (1998-2009). She also co-lead in the development of the Institute’s PHD program in International Family and Community Studies. Prior to her work at Clemson University, she was Associate Director and Research Professor at the Institute for Families in Society and Director of the Division on Neighborhood Development at the University of South Carolina (1995-1998). From 1981-1995, she was a tenured Assistant and Associate Professor in the College of Agriculture and Human Resources (Department of Human Resources), an Associate Professor in the College of Social Sciences (Department of Urban and Regional Planning), and Research Associate in the Center on Youth Development at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In 1977, she and her husband moved to Hawaii where she was a Research Associate in the Culture Learning Institute at the East-West Center (1978-1981) before joining the UHM faculty. From 1975-1978, she was a senior graduate assistant and Research Associate in the Nonformal Education Institute at Michigan State University working on a multi-million dollar USAID project in Indonesia to enhance the nation’s teacher training college system to include, among other things, an emphasis on community development initiatives. In addition, she served as Vice President of Program and Publications for Pioneer Girls, a faith-based, interdenominational, international girls club, camp and women’s leadership development program (1970-1975). From 1967-1970, she was a graduate assistant in the College of Education at Texas Women’s University working on marine biology science curriculums for inland schools, and a science teacher in the Denton Texas public school system. While studying at Moody Bible Institute, she founded and directed an out of school child and teen development and literacy center in two housing projects in Chicago, as well as founding and hosting a radio program at WMBI (1964-1970). Dr. Robinson testified several times before the U.S. Congress, several states’ legislative bodies, and the United Nations. She served as a consultant to numerous state social service, health, juvenile justice, governors’ offices, environmental, and municipal agencies. Internationally she was a consultant to 28 international organizations, including several divisions of the United Nations, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, ASEAN and the All Union (USSR) Academy of Sciences, Asian Development Bank, Asian Institute for Technology, Australian Commonwealth’s Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Canadian International Development Agency, Chulalongkorn University Social Research Institute, European Centre For Social Welfare Policy and Research, the German Development Bank, German Ministry of Education, Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, and the U.S. Peace Corps. She has received numerous awards and recognitions from her work, including several fellowships and an Award of Distinction from the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges for her leadership of a national task group to add new science understanding to what was offered through schools and colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources across the U.S. She was awarded the University of Hawaii Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching in 1990, the highest award given at UHM. She also has received awards of distinction from the U.S. Peace Corps and USDA for her community development work. At the University of South Carolina, she was recognized for her contributions to research productivity, and received three faculty excellence awards while at Clemson University. Texas Woman’s University honored her in 2015 with the Chancellor’s Alumni Excellence Award and, that same year, the National Development Institute awarded her their 25th anniversary Nonprofit Leadership Award. In 2017, the National Association of Nonprofit Executives and Organizations honored her with their first Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award. She received letters of commendation from three states’ governors for her work in enhancing various aspects of human service delivery systems. Having traveled and worked in 151 countries, she is a recognized leader in rural community development in a variety of national and cultural contexts. She retired in 2009 from Clemson University but remains affiliated with the Institute as an Adjunct Professor. Since her retirement, she has remained active in leadership roles within two charter schools, National Development Institute and the National Association of Nonprofit Organizations & Executives. She currently lives in Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

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